


Sunflower

by wholeorc



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, Hes not evil just. A pain in the ass, Lore went to the academy with Data and they were brought up as brothers, Multi, Protective Siblings, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2020-09-02 00:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20266954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholeorc/pseuds/wholeorc
Summary: Lore gets transferred to Enterprise. Family drama ensues





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since it had been official there had been whispers around the ship. 

_ Did you hear? We're getting another Data. _

_ Another Data? There's more than one? _

_ He never mentioned a brother. _

_ How exciting! Two Datas! _

Lore had been confirmed to transfer to the Enterprise and the news had spread like wildfire. Very few had known of Lt. Commander Data's brother before this, which only fueled the excitement buzzing through the crew. Speculation was inevitable, and Geordi had to repeatedly bite his tongue at how wrong it all was. 

Data rarely spoke of Lore. When he did, it was really only to Geordi or Deanna. His polite nature was always strained in discussing him. 

His brother, his twin, brought up beside him. Physically, they were virtually identical, separated by one independent variable: the emotion chip. Indeed, Lore had the privilege of understanding emotion in a way Data could not. 

And he used it to be a jackass. 

The rare times Lore did come up in conversation, it was clear to Geordi that Data's relationship with his brother was... strained. He loved him, of course, cared about his wellbeing, but it seemed to Geordi that Lore was a difficult person to be close to. When Data spoke of him, it would almost always be with worry.

"He has difficulty with being perceived as… abrasive." He would inform Geordi. "He is an excellent nurse, but many have reported his bedside manner to be unpleasant." 

Right. He was a nurse. 

All the concerning information Geordi knew about Lore swam in his head as he waited to greet him at the transporter bay. Data stood dutifully beside him, Doctor Crusher and Captain Picard ready to greet him as well. 

Lore materialized before them, looking almost like a perfect reflection of Data if not for the blue uniform. And the wary expression. 

He lit up when he saw Data, striding toward him with open arms. "Brother!" He pulled him into a hug that would probably crush an organic lifeform. Data returned the embrace rather awkwardly, pulling away from the startlingly affectionate greeting. 

"Lore. Welcome to the Enterprise." He gestured to their two dumbfounded superiors. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Doctor Beverly Crusher." 

Doctor Crusher was the first to adjust to her shock, providing a firm handshake and a "Pleased to meet you." Captain Picard followed quickly after her.

Lore wore a saccharine smile as he greeted his two commanding officers, which became minutely strained when he noticed Geordi. 

"And who is this?"

"Commander Geordi La Forge, chief engineer." Lore eyed him with suspicion. 

Geordi held out a hand, which Lore shook a tinge too firmly. "I assume you'll be giving me my 'physical', so to speak." His voice had an edge Geordi couldn't quite define. He just smiled through his discomfort. 

"Sure will. Should be a breeze." 

Lore barely concealed his scoff, providing another pleasant smile to their commanding officers before being led to engineering by Geordi and Data. 

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room as Lore sat on the floor between Geordi's knees and allowed him to open up his head to inspect the inside. He had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Data, as usual, didn't register the tension, blissfully chatting away to the two of them despite getting no response. 

"Data," Lore cut him off abruptly, looking up and forcing Geordi to adjust what he was doing. "Could you be a dear and take my luggage to my room? I only trust you to do it." 

Data blinked owlishly, examining the two of them for a brief moment before taking on his brother's request. "Of course, Lore." He seemed almost hesitant as he left the room, leaving the two of them alone. 

Geordi suppressed a small wave of nausea, continuing to silently inspect Lore's circuitry. Why had Lore seemed so suspicious of him? Surely Data had talked about Geordi in their correspondence. Or perhaps he hadn't. He wasn't quite sure which one was better or worse. 

"So," Lore drawled, breaking the tense silence between them. "You and my brother, huh?"

Geordi's hands stilled for a moment. "How d'you mean?" 

"I mean he's quite fond of you."

He returned his focus to his work, unsure where this was going. "Well, sure. He's fond of all of his crewmates. Just the other day he and Doctor Crusher-"

"He doesn't mention them nearly as much as you." Lore's voice had that strange edge to it again. "I counted. Recurring mentions of 'Geordi' are 70% more frequent than any other recurring names. 'Spot' is the only one that comes close."

"...I'm not sure what you're implying here, Lore." 

"Oh, nothing at all." He paused. "My brother is incapable of love, you know. It may seem like you're friends, but don't be fooled." 

Ah. There it was. Geordi grimaced, electing not to comment right away. Data had told him Lore could be jealous, that he could lie, but he hadn't quite realized the extent of it. 

"What? Did that hurt your feelings? I'm only being honest." Lore continued, his voice snide. The attempt to get a rise out of Geordi was painfully transparent. 

He kept his tone even, closing up the access panel in Lore's head. "I don't know, Lore. You haven't seen your brother in a long while. You might be surprised by what he's capable of now." He gave him a little pat, which earned him a resentful look. “Everything looks good. You’re free to go settle into your quarters.” 

Lore stood stiffly, stalking out of engineering without a second glance at Geordi. 

\---

Lore entered his quarters, which were resoundingly empty aside from basic furniture and the small suitcase Data had dutifully delivered for him. On the table was a note from Data, including a perfectly-drawn map to his quarters. 

_ Lore, _

_ Please feel free to visit my quarters after your shift if you would like to talk. I am interested to hear how your first day on The Enterprise goes. _

_ Data _

_ P.S; Be careful not to let Spot out if you decide to visit _

Oh, Data. 

Lore unpacked his few possessions in a hurry, impatient to get his first day over with. He was out the door and headed to sickbay within the minute of hanging his last shirt. 

Doctor Crusher was preoccupied with paperwork when he entered, greeting him absentmindedly before he was whisked away by a nurse. The Enterprise’s head nurse, as it turned out. Lt. Alyssa Ogawa ended up showing him the ropes, putting him straight to work. He treated scrapes, headaches, stomach aches, all while being subjected to invasive small talk from his curious patients. 

"Have you and Data ever pretended to be each other for a prank?"

"What was Data like at the academy?"

"How come you got an emotion chip and Data didn't?"

Data, Data, Data. All questions he'd already heard a thousand times, grating on him as he tried to get through his first day without a reprimand for snapping at someone. He kept his answers brief and uninteresting, but the questions kept coming. Resentment built in him like bile, his responses gaining more venom as the day wore on. 

He had just finished cleaning his station when Nurse Ogawa sent yet another patient his way, smiling sympathetically when he gave her an exasperated look. The woman perched on the examination table, regarding him with the same curiosity he'd been receiving all day. He sighed, pulling up her form on his PADD. "Ensign Sonya Gomez, you're here today for nausea and stomach cramps, correct?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been experiencing these symptoms?" 

She contemplated for a moment. "Three days, give or take."

Lore raised an eyebrow, retrieving his tricorder to do a scan. "Why did you wait so long to come in?" 

"It hadn't interfered with my work until today." She shrugged. Lore snuck a second glance at her form to see where she worked. Engineering. 

He looked back up to see Miss Gomez's eyes fixed on him. Her face shifted and Lore internally groaned, bracing himself for another insulting question. "Why did you decide to become a nurse?"

Oh. 

"You don't need medical treatment like most do. Why have any interest in it at all?"

Lore mulled over how to answer her question. It was genuine and personal, unlike the rest of the queries that had been slung at him that day. 

"Same reason you became an engineer. Curiosity." He responded simply, examining the results of his scan. She seemed pleased with his answer, which pleased him as well for some reason. 

"Well, ensign, it seems your symptoms are stress induced. Have you experienced any personal problems or work-related anxieties recently?" 

She sighed, eyes on the floor as she nodded.

"Seeing as it is interfering with your ability to fulfill your duties, I will be relieving you of them for at least three days. I would recommend making an appointment with Counselor Troi." 

Sonya's eyes snapped up to Lore's, defiant. "No."

Lore spluttered. "What do you mean, no? Ensign, this is a direct order-"

"It'll make me look weak! And besides, what am I supposed to do if I can't be in engineering? I'll lose my mind!"

"You _ are _ weak." Lore reminded her. "That's why you need a break. You can handle three days off." He didn't understand why he was fighting with this ensign to accept time off. Half the people he'd seen that day had tried to weasel their way into getting leave. 

"I can't!" She insisted. "I'll have no one to talk to! Nothing to do! Commander La Forge is my only friend, and he'll be busy." She was becoming quite distressed, and Lore wasn't sure what to do.

"You'll have Counselor Troi to talk to-"

"It's her _ job _ to talk to me!" She huffed, hugging herself. "Aside from her I'll be all alone for three days."

The poor thing already looked miserable. "I'll visit you." Lore found himself saying before he could think about it. The relief on Sonya's face chased away any regret he might have felt for making such a promise. 

"You mean it?" 

"Yes. Now please, go get some rest, ensign."

\--- 

As requested, Lore went to Data's quarters after his shift. He wasn't sure what his expectations had been, but they were certainly surpassed. It was tidy, of course. Lore was pretty sure Data was incapable of making a mess without cleaning up as he went. In spite of that, though, there was a shocking amount of sensory input. 

He was greeted first by music as he stepped inside, eyes lingering on the clusters of paintings on the walls. Data had mentioned his various artistic endeavors, but Lore had never seen them. They were… colorful. Varied. Nothing like he had imagined. 

Something soft rubbed up against his shins and he felt a purr rumble up his leg, looking down to see the infamous Spot leaving a trail of orange hairs on his trouser leg. 

"How odd. Spot is not usually so friendly." Data observed as he approached to greet his brother. Spot trotted toward him, sitting at his feet and meowing until Data picked him up.

"Hello, Data." Lore found himself smiling, glad to see his brother after such a tiresome first day. 

"Hello, Lore. Please, come sit with me." He led him to his dining table, pulling a chair out for Lore to seat himself in. He sat opposite him, Spot curling up in his lap. "How was your day?"

"Long."

Data tilted his head. "I was led to believe you worked a standard length shift. Did you elect to work overtime?" 

Lore sighed. He hadn't seen Data in so long, he'd forgotten that he struggled with figurative language. "No, Data. Long as in tiring. It felt slower than it really was."

Data blinked a few times, clearly searching records to help him understand. "I see. Your emotion chip allows your perception of time to be altered depending on your emotional state." He frowned. "Your first day was unpleasant?"

"Well, only because my patients kept pestering me with questions. You know my threshold for that is low."

"Indeed, I do. What did they ask?"

Lore shrugged. "Mostly it was about you and I. I think they were trying to imagine us as children." Lore watched as Data's brow furrowed. "Figuratively speaking." He clarified. 

He paused momentarily, thinking about the stubborn ensign- Sonya's- question. The outlier. 

"Data, do you know an ensign by the name of Sonya Gomez?"

"Yes. Geordi has been mentoring her, so I interact with her frequently." 

Lore resisted the impulse to grimace at the mention of Geordi's name. "I see. What can you tell me about her?"

"She is a gifted engineer. Geordi requested her to transfer to Enterprise from Starbase 173 after reading her graduating thesis."

Well, that was impressive. Lore knew Commander La Forge was one of the most highly regarded engineers in Starfleet. He wasn't easy to impress. But that wasn't quite the information Lore was looking for. "That's nice, Data, but I meant more along the lines of her personality. Her likes and dislikes." 

Data stared at him, unreadable. "I am not sure of ensign Gomez's preferences," He began slowly, and Lore could see Data's intense curiosity flare up as he continued. "However, I have known her to be very enthusiastic about her work. Similarly to Geordi, she often works several hours more than she is assigned. Why?" 

"I saw her in sickbay today. I gave her medical leave and she tried to refuse it."

Data nodded knowingly. "She has a dedication that some have called 'obsessive'. This would not be the first time she has neglected her own health in favor of productivity. Not unlike-"

"Geordi?"

"... yes."

This was getting ridiculous. "Is there anything you can tell me about her that _ doesn't _relate to Geordi?" The question seemed to throw Data off, but if it did, he didn't comment. 

"She likes hot chocolate." He said after a few moments. 

Lore nodded, standing from his seat. He figured he'd better cut the evening short before he ended up starting a disagreement. "Thank you for inviting me to visit, brother. I should get back to my quarters." 

Data tilted his head slightly. "Of course, brother. Please do not hesitate to come see me whenever you see fit." 

Lore grunted an acknowledgement before standing, walking stiffly out the door. He felt Data’s eyes on his back as he went, boring through him. For once, he was sure the stifling tension he felt wasn't one-sided. 

\---

"May I come in?"

"Enter." 

The doors parted and Sonya stepped into Geordi's quarters. The room was pitch black save for the tiniest bits of bluish light from the stars out the window. "I'm sorry, commander, were you getting ready for bed?"

"What? Oh, right." Geordi laughed softly, his voice coming from somewhere to Sonya's right. "You need light to see. Computer, lights thirty percent." 

Color and warmth eased over the room, forms becoming clear shapes to Sonya's unenhanced eyes. She peered toward the source of Geordi's voice, seeing that he had his visor off and was sat at his table moving his hands over something. She stepped closer to see. A braille book. "Whatcha reading, Commander?" 

"_ A Study in Scarlet. _ Data found out I've never read any Doyle and insisted I'd enjoy it."

"How do you like it so far?"

Geordi shrugged, setting the book aside. "I can certainly see why Data likes it." 

"That dry, huh?" 

That got another laugh from Geordi, which made Sonya smile in turn. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "Well, the holo-programs are still fun. Did you need something, Ensign?" 

Sonya shifted from foot to foot, trying to recollect the excuse she'd come up with. Just wanting to talk wasn't reason enough to bother the chief engineer, friend or no. 

"I was wondering if there might be any schematics or something I could go over. I have some… extra time this week."

"Heard you got three days' medical leave." His demeanor softened a bit. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Sonya groaned. "I didn't think it was that big a deal."

"Sonya, you could barely focus this afternoon. I've never seen you so upset." He frowned. It was obvious he was worried about her, which only turned her stomach more. He had more important things to worry about than her personal problems. "Trust me, I know talking about your feelings is hard, but if you ever need to, I'd be happy to listen. Or Counselor Troi, if you aren't comfortable talking to me about something." 

"...So can I get those schematics?"

"Ensign." 

"Please! I can't have nothing to do for three days!"

"You won't. There's plenty to do on Enterprise. Spend some time in the holodeck, go to Ten Forward, talk to your friends!" Sonya was glad Geordi couldn't see her cringing at his suggestions. It seemed like he could tell anyway, though. "Try taking it easy for a change. But most importantly, _ talk _ to someone about whatever it is that's troubling you. I promise it'll help." 

Sonya just sighed again, eyes locked on her hands wringing themselves together seemingly on their own. "Thanks, Commander." She muttered, barely audible. "I think I'm gonna go to bed." She wrenched her hands apart and made her way back to the door. 

"Any time." He didn't sound very convinced. Sonya hurried out with a wave, wincing when she realized Geordi had no way to see it. 

"Good night, Commander." 

"Good night, Ensign. Computer, lights zero percent." 


	2. Chapter 2

Lore was relieved to find that the crew's collective focus was fickle. Within 24 hours of Lore's arrival the gossip around the ship had shifted from him to some ambassador that would be staying on board for a few days. Not that it meant Lore was off the hook- he still had to grit his teeth through faux-friendly encounters with nosy crewmen. He'd be less annoyed if people were more honest about the fact that they just wanted to satisfy their curiosity and weren't genuinely interested in befriending him. The only tolerable people he'd met since he'd boarded Enterprise so far were the sickbay crew and that odd ensign. 

Sonya- he'd promised to visit her during her leave. For someone who was so concerned about having nothing to do, she sure was hard to find. As soon as his shift ended he'd said goodbye to the sickbay staff and headed straight to Sonya's quarters only to find she wasn't there. He asked around engineering to see if she'd tried to sneak into work- she had, but they'd caught her right away and chased her out. She wasn't very sneaky. No luck at the Holodeck, either. He checked Ten Forward as a last resort, but she wasn't there either. He hadn't expected her to be with how crowded it usually was, but he was really stumped at this point. 

He plopped down at a booth, pulling up a map of Enterprise. The fitness center? Probably not, she seemed too nervous to exercise in front of others. If her stomach was still troubling her, she probably wasn't lingering at the mess hall. Lore sighed, letting his eye wander over the map for anywhere she might have gone. The aquarium? He paused, narrowing his eyes. Quiet, contemplative, not generally crowded- he still had a good amount of the ship to search, but this seemed like his best bet. 

He started to trudge his way from Ten Forward to the aquarium. They were a ways apart, so he had a good twenty minute walk ahead of him, and he was already picking up unavoidable snippets of conversations going on around him. 

_ "Apparently Data's brother is a real piece of work-" _

_ "Captain Picard has been going nuts over everything being perfect for the ambassador, they alerted us months in advance-" _

_ "I heard the ambassador's a real hardass!" _

_ "Well they're a human ambassador on Vulcan, you'd have to be." _

_ "The ambassador's married to a Vulcan, must be true." _

_ "Don't quote me on this, but I heard they have a family member on Enterprise!" _

This last one caused Lore to slow his step, adjusting his hearing to pick up the passing conversation. A pair of science ensigns- human and Andorian- gossiping on their way to the holodeck. 

"A family member? That's awful vague."

"Well, they're a private person, so that's all the detail they gave. Apparently they wouldn't have mentioned it at all if they hadn't had to." 

"What's the Ambassador's name?"

The human sounded absolutely affronted. "You don't know?" 

The Andorian clicked her tongue. "Ah, I don't pay attention to that shit. It's not like we're meeting them anyway. C'mon, maybe we can figure it out."

"The ambassador's name is Camille Gomez." The human sounded amused by the Andorian’s sentiment.

"Hm. Don't know any Gomez or anyone who's mentioned a Camille. Damn."

Lore adjusted his step before he was caught eavesdropping, his mind whirling. Gomez was a common surname. Extremely common among humans. Ambassador Gomez couldn't be related to Sonya. She would have said something. She would have had time off to give her sibling a tour and make them comfortable. If the ambassador was as touchy as the ensigns had said, the Captain would want all the help he could get. 

Lore halted at the entrance to the aquarium, mind still abuzz. He hoped to find Sonya here more than ever now, but he knew better than to bombard her with questions, no matter how much he wanted to know what was going on. This was Sonya's time off, and she desperately needed to relax. 

He squared his shoulders and stepped into the aquarium, exploring a bit through the sparse amount of aquarium visitors, eventually finding her as expected. 

She sat on a bench, criss-cross, and hunched over a notebook. Lore approached with caution, taking care to shuffle against the carpet and gently alert her of his presence. She was absorbed in her notebook, however, and didn't notice his attempts at getting her attention. Lore sighed internally, resigning himself to sitting down beside her, which startled her far more than he expected it to. 

She practically leapt up with a squeak, her eyes wide and frightened by the interruption.

"Lore-! What are you doing here?"

"I said I'd visit you on leave, didn't I?" 

Sonya blinked, seemingly surprised he actually kept his promise. "You did."

"Apologies for startling you. I did try to get your attention, but you seemed preoccupied by your notebook." Lore tried to sneak a peek at what she was writing, but she snapped it closed instinctively. 

"Yeah. Sorry." 

They sat in an uncomfortable silence then, Lore doing his best to ignore Sonya's elevated heart rate and how fidgety she was. There was something almost endearing- no. Not endearing. Concerning. Leave was supposed to help her unwind. Lore had to snap her out of this.

"Would you like to get some hot chocolate with me at Ten Forward?" 

That got her to perk up a bit. She met Lore's eyes with a smile that made Lore feel. Something. "Yeah, I love hot chocolate." 

Lore ignored the fluttering sensation in the stomach he didn’t have as he stood to escort her out of the aquarium. Damn Soong and his damn emotion chip. 

\--- 

"Ambassador Gomez. Doctor T'Palia. Welcome aboard The Enterprise." Captain Picard held up his hand in a Vulcan salute, which was returned in kind by the Ambassador and their wife. 

They looked as regal and pompous as any high-society Vulcans would, dressed in floor length robes and groomed to perfection. The Ambassador looked plain, but professional, their dark wavy hair cropped short and a severe face. Doctor T'Palia was so beautiful it was unfair, with long, back-length black hair coiled neatly into traditional Vulcan styling. 

Geordi didn't understand why he had to be here for this. 

Sure, he was a commanding officer, but he wasn't exactly like Riker or Worf or Doctor Crusher or even Counselor Troi, who all had far more relevant duties to a diplomat than Chief of Engineering. He'd rather be enjoying his time off shift while he could. 

Luckily for him, the introduction was brief and the ambassador and their wife were escorted to their quarters without much fuss. There was something familiar about the ambassador that Geordi couldn't quite place, but he frankly didn't care enough to think too hard about it. He and Data had plans. 

They were going to spend time together at Ten Forward. Geordi enjoyed their sessions in the Holodeck, but he found he preferred being able to spend unstructured time with Data. He’d had much more fun learning macrame with him than he had during any of their several near-death experiences playing Sherlock and Watson. Someone needed to take a serious look at the damn Holodeck’s programming. 

He changed into his casual uniform from his formal one and hurried to Ten Forward, eager to not think about work for a while. 

He arrived before Data, which was expected as Data was rarely anything but right on time, so Geordi decided to sit at the bar while he waited. 

Guinan was tending as usual, which always delighted Geordi. Her presence was very grounding, and Geordi always felt a bit nervous before spending time with Data outside of work even though they were together practically the time. Guinan's eyes twinkled when she spotted Geordi at the bar, and she made her way toward him as soon as she finished helping a customer. 

"Geordi! Always good to see you."

"You too, Guinan." Geordi exhaled a bit, already feeling calmer. 

"What's the occasion?" Her tone was playful but her eyes still had that odd glint to them. 

Geordi shrugged. "Waiting for Data." 

Guinan searched Geordi's face for a moment. Geordi wasn't sure what for. 

"You two have been spending a lot of time together." 

Geordi furrowed his brows. "Well, we  _ are _ friends. That's what friends do."

Guinan nodded slowly. "It is." She agreed, but mischief was apparent in her voice. 

First Lore and now Guinan. Was there something strange about Geordi's friendship with Data? Nobody acted this way when he spent time with Ro Laren or Doctor Crusher! "What are you implying?"

Guinan held up her hands. "Nothing at all, Commander." She paused, her eyes drifting up to look past Geordi. "Your date's here."

"Wha-?" Geordi looked over his shoulder with a start to see Data entering Ten Forward. He whipped his head back to the bar to object to Guinan's verbiage, but she had managed to escape to the other end, suddenly very occupied with mixing drinks.

"Hello, Geordi." Data greeted him pleasantly, sitting beside him at the bar. Geordi grunted a response, any calm Guinan had provided him now whirled into anxiousness from the implication that this was a date. 

"Data." He managed when Data looked puzzled by his slowness to respond. He watched him take a seat next to him at the bar, trying to convince himself this was a normal day off with Data like any other, not a date. Unless all those other times had been dates too, which was ridiculous.

Right?

\--- 

Ten Forward, to Lore’s relief, was not crowded when he and Sonya entered. It made sense, since it was midday so most people were either on shift or sleeping for their next shift. Sonya seemed relieved by this as well, linking her arm in Lore’s and dragging him behind her in a sudden bout of enthusiasm to the bar. 

Lore had yet to meet the bartender, a deep-skinned humanoid whose face lit up as soon as she saw Sonya. 

“Hot chocolate?” 

“Yes, ma’am!” Sonya beamed, bouncing on her heels as Guinan poured her some into a mug. “Thank you, Guinan. Oh, this is Lore.”

Guinan nodded an acknowledgement, which Lore returned stiffly. “Nice to meet you.” Her tone withheld something, which Lore did not care to investigate. Her attention seemed to have returned to Sonya, anyway. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m alright.” Sonya sighed, taking a small sip from her mug. 

“Okay. Well, Ambassador Camille arri-”

Sonya shushed her in a harsher tone than Lore thought her capable of, startling him a bit. “Don’t talk about it so casually! Nobody else knows!”

“They don’t? But you two look just ali-”

“Please, Guinan, not a word.” 

Guinan shrugged. “Alright.” She glanced at Lore. “What about him?” 

Sonya sighed, glancing up at Lore who was doing his very best to look oblivious. “Listen,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “ Ambassador Camille is my sibling. We’re not on good terms and I don’t want to see them. Only you and Guinan know.” 

“Understood.” Lore nodded confirmation. This seemed to satisfy Sonya, who went back to sipping her hot chocolate and chatting with Guinan like nothing happened. Lore tuned out, eyes wandering around Ten Forward to get a look at who all was there. As much as he hated interaction with others, he did enjoy observing them. His gaze drifted to the other end of the bar, where he spotted Data and- for fuck’s sake, that damn engineer he followed around like a lost puppy-

“Geordi!” Sonya had spotted them just as he did, scurrying over to interrupt their conversation. Lore stayed behind, glaring for a few moments before he was rudely interrupted by the Guinan woman. 

“What’s with the evil eye? You have sibling baggage too?” 

Lore irritably turned to face her, narrowing his eyes. “If you must know, I don’t approve of his…  _ friend _ .” 

“Who, Geordi? He’s the sweetest guy on the Enterprise next to your brother.”

Lore rolled his eyes. “Forgive me for not trusting the judgement of a stranger. Data is naive, too naive for-” he gestured vaguely “-whatever that is.” 

Guinan busied herself cleaning glasses, looking over to the three engineering officers now having an animated conversation. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen him. Just because he doesn’t see things how you do, doesn’t make him a child.” 

Lore huffed. She sounded like Geordi. “Well. What do you know?” 

“I know that Sonya’s taken a shining to you, and that she has good judgement. And you know who she adores?”

Lore groaned. “Geordi?”

“Geordi.”

Sonya finally looked back at Lore, cheerfully waving him over to join them at the other end of the bar. He took a deep, purposeless breath and went, ignoring Guinan’s suppressed giggling as he did. 

\---

Geordi was relieved when Sonya interrupted him and Data. Geordi had been uncharacteristically quiet in his nervousness, and Data had begun rambling about their potential activities to fill the silence. Sonya had popped over to say hello in the middle of an intensive description of various crochet techniques, thankfully bringing it to a halt as Data stopped to make conversation. 

She seemed more relaxed than she had yesterday, holding a hot chocolate in both hands and sipping it as she chatted with Data. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in Ten Forward.” Geordi observed.

“Oh, I usually make sure to come when it’s practically empty.” She glanced around at the few people milling about. “Even emptier than right now. But this is ok, too. It was Lore’s idea.” 

Geordi’s brain came to a screeching halt. He was about to comment, but Data beat him to it. 

“Lore?”

“Yeah! He’s been really nice.” She gestured to the other side of the bar where Lore sat, looking distinctly like the antithesis of nice, and beckoned him over to their side. He approached stiffly, looking… embarrassed? Something was off.

“Data. Geordi.” He didn’t look at Geordi as he greeted them. 

“I see you have met Guinan.” Data commented. Lore looked irritated by the observation.

“Yes. She’s an interesting woman.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen. I know it's been a year and I have no excuses


End file.
